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← Go dark · Mission 11 of 17

AirDrop for every device: send files between Windows, Android, iPhone and Mac with no cloud

LocalSend moves photos, videos and documents straight across your own Wi-Fi, from any phone or computer to any other. No account, no upload to anyone's server, full-quality originals, and nothing lands on your device until you press Accept.

20 minBeginnerTools: FreeStep 1 free
Tested 9 Oct 2026 · LocalSend 1.18.2 (official portable zip) on Windows 11, receiving from a test script and from Edge on the same PC
LocalSend on your PC (no installer needed) and the free app on your phone
Photos and videos sent from your phone to your PC at full quality, not squashed like a chat app does
A way to swap files with someone who won't install anythinga link they open in their browser
  • The settings that stop strangers on the same Wi-Fi sending you things
Before you start
  • A Windows PC (Mac and Linux work too) and a phone or a second computer
  • Both devices on the same Wi-Fi, ideally at home. Guest and office networks often block this (step 6 explains)
  • About 90MB of free disk space on the PC
01/06Get LocalSend on your PC0 done
STEP 01 of 06~4 min

Get LocalSend on your PC

LocalSend is one free app. The portable version runs from a single folder and leaves nothing behind when you delete it.

  1. The quickest way on Windows is one command:

    Windows
    winget install --id LocalSend.LocalSend -e
    Mac (Homebrew), or get it from the Mac App Store
    brew install --cask localsend

  2. On Linux, get it from Flathub, Snap or the other options on the LocalSend download list ↗.

  3. Prefer no installer?Open the official releases page ↗, scroll to Assets and download the file ending windows-x86-64.zip (about 26MB). Right-click it, choose Extract All, and run localsend_app.exe from the folder. The zip includes an empty settings.json next to the app, which tells LocalSend to keep all its settings in that folder (the README calls this portable mode), so deleting the folder removes it completely.

    TipCheck it's the real thing: the releases page lists a SHA-256 fingerprint next to each download, and Windows shows localsend_app.exe as signed by its developer, Tien Do Nam (right-click it, Properties, Digital Signatures).
    TipThe portable zip keeps everything in its own folder, so it runs from a USB stick on any Windows PC with nothing to install. Useful for moving files on a machine you can't change.
    LocalSend on Windows in dark mode, on the Receive tab, showing the device name Fresh Tomato and a Receive via link button
    LocalSend's Receive screen. Fresh Tomato is the random name it gave itself. Other devices see that name, so you know which one is you.
    CarefulThe first time it opens, Windows Security may ask whether LocalSend can use networks. Click Allow. If the box has tick boxes, tick Private networks only. Without this, your PC can still send, but your phone can't send to it.
✓
CheckpointLocalSend is open and shows a big device name, like Fresh Tomato.
If it breaksI clicked Cancel on the Windows Security box
I clicked Cancel on the Windows Security box
Open Windows Security, then Firewall & network protection, then Allow an app through firewall. Click Change settings, find localsend_app and tick Private. On a shared PC this needs an admin to approve it.
Still stuck? Ask the community
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